The description of art in this section is not intended to constitute an admission that any patent, publication or other information referred to herein is “prior art” with respect to this invention, unless specifically designated as such.
While the present invention relates to hand-held control modules generally, it will be better understood within the discussion of exemplary embodiments directed toward universal remote controls. Universal remote controls typically offer a preprogrammed set of standardized keys for each device type supported. These provide for the common operational functions of the device but do not necessarily offer the full range of features available on the original manufacturer's remote.
U.S. patents and applications relevant to remote control technology include U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,515,052; 5,255,313; and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/418,091 filed Oct. 14, 1999, which are incorporated herein by reference. Pat. '052 discloses a universal remote control with function synthesis. The remote control comprises driver circuitry for communicating code signal generation sequences including a code generated command signal followed by a code setting signal; and memory for storing information therein. Pat. '313 discloses a universal remote control system having a signal generator to transmit signals which will cause specific functions to occur in specific controlled devices. patent application Ser. No. '091 discloses means and methods for operating a remote control.
Users of universal remote controls who need access to one or more functions not preprogrammed into the unit must then use a learning capability or a feature, such as a function synthesizer (e.g., the function synthesizer discussed in Pat. '052) to add the desired extra functions to their remotes. Other U.S. Patents related to remote control technology, and in particular, relating to learning technology include U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,959,810, 5,228,077, and 5,537,463 which are incorporated herein by reference.
Pat. '810 discloses means for transferring instructions and/or data to RAM wherein the instructions and/or data is transferred from a source external to the RAM. Pat. '077 discloses a remotely upgradable universal remote control. Pat. '463 discloses means in the remote control for picking up an electromagnetic signal from an electro-magnetic signal source and storing output signal data in memory. The output signal data stored in memory may correspond to control function data which may be transmitted to a device to be controlled.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,481,256, issued Jan. 2, 1996, is incorporated herein by reference. The '256 patent discloses circuitry for coupling a SCAN key to a microprocessor and a channel scan program. A channel scan of channels is initiated when the SCAN key is depressed.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,414,426, issued May 9, 1995, is incorporated herein by reference. The '426 patent discloses an entry program for enabling a user to define a macro for selecting at least one favorite channel, whereby rapid selection of at least one favorite channel is made upon subsequent depression of a MACRO key.
A drawback of the prior art is that programming a remote control, for example to create a favorite channel list, can be tedious. Accordingly, it would be useful if there were a “short cut” way to indicate to the remote control that the channel currently being viewed should be added to the list. This would allow the user to build a favorite channel list by simply pressing a key, labeled for example “Thumbs Up”, whenever the user came across a channel he liked. Likewise, a “Thumbs Down” key could be used to delete a channel that fell out of favor.
A challenge in implementing this feature is that the remote control generally is not able to precisely track which channel number is currently being viewed. On many TV sets, for example, action of the CH+ and CH− keys does not necessarily advance channel numbers in exact numerical order. Also, the effect of holding one of these keys for a longer period is not predictable.
The tuning device (cable or satellite STB, TV set, etc.) does however always know the current channel number. So if a low cost method could be devised to transmit this information back to the remote control on the receipt of a “Thumbs Up” key press, such a feature could be implemented in the remote control.
Transmission of data together with television signals are known and include, for example: Vertical Blanking Interval (VBI), e.g., Teletext and Closed Captioning, FM broadcast radio sub-carrier, and cellular telephone-like data systems. Such systems have been complex and not readily available to most TV viewers.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,594,493, which issued Jan. 14, 1997, and is incorporated herein by reference, discloses transmitting data information along with any standard TV video signal for reception by a “smart card” held near the screen. The smart card includes circuitry, a LCD display screen and a plurality of buttons for interacting with the user. The '493 system utilizes a signal with the data imbedded in the video signal. Thus, video and data signals are received simultaneously and with equal clarity. The '493 patent teaches sending data transmission along with a standard television signal in the form of changing light pulses; the data signal is invisible to the user. The light modulation is then sensed by a photoelectric pickup device within the smart card where it is captured and stored. The data can then be displayed and read at a terminal at a redemption center, for example.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,410,326, which issued Apr. 25, 1995, and is incorporated herein by reference, discloses a universal remote control having a touch screen, capable of displaying icons, and a opto-photo signal detector. When advertising indicia is imbedded in a video signal being displayed on a television receiver, the opto-photo signal detector will detect the encoded video signal and supply a digital data stream to an analog signature and signal processor. The variations in luminance are decoded to provide the corresponding serial data stream to the microprocessor.
Both the '493 and '326 patents comprise overlaying or merging the data stream with the video signal. Also, the data stream is always on—the remote “looks up” and receives the data stream via light transmissions. The video system does not respond to queries from the remote control to, for example, provide its current state.
The following U.S. patent applications disclose methods for controlling media systems and for capturing state information. U.S. patent Ser. No. 09/718,931, filed Nov. 21, 2000, and U.S. patent Ser. No. 09/418,091, filed Oct. 14, 1999, are incorporated herein by reference. The '931 application discloses a media return system with return to state capability. The status of the system is quickly captured and provides a simple means to reset the system to, for example, the state prior to channel surfing. The '091 application discloses a media system with punch-through capability. Functional control may be locked across devices to control a particular device while operating in a different device mode.
This document teaches two-way communication methods differing from those disclosed in the '326 and '493 patents. Particular embodiments complement the various media systems and methods disclosed in the '931 and '091 patent applications.